Vladimir Putin raises nuclear weapons fear in thinly-veiled threat over Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin has said the need to use nuclear weapons in has not arisen - then the Russian leader added a thinly-veiled threat that didn't rule out their deployment.

Putin said has the strength and the means to bring to a "logical conclusion", in a preview of an upcoming interview with Russian state television. Responding to a question about Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, said: "There has been no need to use those (nuclear) weapons ... and I hope they will not be required. We have enough strength and means to bring what was started in 2022 to a logical conclusion with the outcome Russia requires."

Putin's comments clearly left open the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict. He signed a revamped version of Russia's nuclear doctrine in November 2024, spelling out the circumstances that allow him to use Moscow's atomic arsenal, the world's largest. That version lowered the bar, giving him that option in response to even a conventional attack backed by a nuclear power.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Fighting continues as Russia and Ukraine are at odds over competing ceasefire proposals. Ukrainian President said on Friday that Moscow's announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II is merely an attempt to create a "soft atmosphere" ahead of Russia's annual celebrations.

Zelensky instead renewed calls for a more substantial 30-day pause in hostilities, as the US had initially proposed. He said the proposed ceasefire could start anytime as a meaningful step toward ending the war.

Putin on Monday declared the unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II, as the US presses for a deal to end the three-year-old war. The Kremlin said the truce, ordered on "humanitarian grounds," will run from the start of May 8 and last through the end of May 10 to mark Moscow's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 - Russia's biggest secular holiday.

Meanwhile, 11 people were wounded in a Russian drone attack overnight on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said Sunday. Two children were among the wounded.

The attack woke up Valentyna Fesiuk, an 83-year-old resident of Kyiv's Obolon district. "I was just sleeping when the house shook. It was at 12:30. An apartment on the 12th floor caught fire," she said. The car of another resident, Viacheslav Khotab, caught fire. I saw my car burning. I was covered with broken glass," he said. "I couldn't do anything."

The 54-year-old was frustrated with stalled peace negotiations: "They can't agree on anything, and we are the ones who suffer the consequences."

Russia fired a total of 165 exploding drones and decoys overnight, Ukraine's air force said. Of those, 69 were intercepted and a further 80 lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Russia also launched two ballistic missiles. Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defenses shot down 13 Ukrainian drones overnight.